Landmarks Preservation Commission September 20, 2011, Designation List 448 LP-2426 MADISON BELMONT BUILDING, FIRST FLOOR INTERIOR, consisting of the main lobby space and the fixtures and components of this space, including but not limited to, wall, ceiling and floor surfaces, entrance and vestibule doors, grilles, bronze friezes and ornament, lighting fixtures, elevator doors, mailbox, interior doors, clock, fire command box, radiators, and elevator sign, 181-183 Madison Avenue (aka 31 East 33rd Street and 44-46 East 34th Street), Manhattan. Built: 1924-25; architects: Warren & Wetmore. Landmark Site: Borough of Manhattan Tax Map Block 863, Lot 60. On July 26, 2011, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a Public Hearing on the proposed designation as a Landmark of the Madison Belmont Building, First Floor Interior and the proposed designation of the related Landmark Site (Item No. 2). The hearing had been duly advertised in accordance with the provisions of law. There were three speakers in favor of designation including a representative of the owner and representatives of the Historic Districts Council and the Society for the Architecture of the City. There were no speakers in opposition. Summary The first floor interior lobby of the Madison Belmont Building is a rare, intact and ornate Eclectic Revival style space designed as part of the original construction of the building in 1924-25. The room is finished with a mixture of fine materials, including a variety of marbles and bronze and has a multi-colored, barrel-vaulted ceiling painted in classically-inspired designs. Reached via the main entrance and vestibule on 34th Street, it serves the Madison Belmont Building, an L-shaped structure running south to 33rd Street and east to Madison Avenue, which was designed by the prominent architectural firm of Warren & Wetmore, with ironwork in the Art Deco style by Edgar Brandt, French iron master. The building was constructed by the Merchants & Manufacturers Exchange of New York to house showrooms and offices for silk companies in the newly formed Silk District of mid-town Manhattan. Although the exterior of the Madison Belmont Building has many elements that reflect newly emerging modern ideas in architecture, the interior lobby is more traditional and uses a variety of motifs inspired by ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt. The walls are faced with framed marble panels highlighted by bronze figures of gods and mythological creatures, suggestive of ancient Roman mural paintings found in Pompeii, while specific motifs such as lotus flowers and a variety of sphinx figures derive from ancient Egypt. The metalwork, including the wall figures and the various bronze doors, was created by Edgar Brandt’s French workshop and shipped to New York for installation. The ceiling is slightly coved, with painted designs highlighted by low relief plaster details, including laurel leaves framing the rondelles. The central areas are enhanced by several large mythological figures, including the goddess Leda (known as a skilled weaver) riding a swan and holding various silk spinning implements. The design and materials of the building’s lobby immediately give visitors an impression of great luxury and refinement, a desirable effect for those originally shopping for fine silk goods. It continues to serve as an elegant and unique entrance for its current tenants. DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS Silk District1 The “Silk District” of Manhattan developed in the early 1920s as sales and design businesses related to silk manufacturing moved to or constructed buildings near the intersection of 34th Street and Madison Avenue. Previously most of these companies had been located near Fourth Avenue between 18th and 20th streets. A confluence of real estate activities led to this change. In the late 19th century this section had been developed with mansions surrounded by lawns and fences for wealthy New Yorkers. The well-known residents of the area included the Phelps family who had a house facing Madison Avenue between 36th and 37th Streets (later purchased by J.P. Morgan), Pierre Lorillard, Jr. who lived at the southwest corner of Madison Avenue and 34th Street and August Belmont who resided across Madison Avenue.2 Early in the 20th century retail establishments began to move north from Ladies Mile changing the character of all the adjoining areas. An incursion of commercial buildings began, including the R.H. Macy department store which moved to 34th Street and Broadway in 1901-02, B. Altman’s to 34th and Fifth Avenue in 1905-6, and Tiffany & Company to Fifth and 37th Street in 1903-6, as well as a large office structure, the Cameron Building, constructed on the northeast corner of 34th Street and Madison Avenue.3 By 1907, the Real Estate Record & Guide reported that “all the blocks between Fifth and Sixth Avenues on Murray Hill are being invaded by retail houses, such as silversmiths, tailors, dressmakers, milliners, etc.”4 These developments hastened the relocation of many people with private homes to areas further north. The change was also spurred by the construction of Pennsylvania Station and the elevated trains and subways that ran along Sixth Avenue and Third Avenue, making this central area easily accessible by a variety of transportation and thus appealing to business interests. New York aided this transition by widening Madison Avenue between 23rd and 41st Streets by 5 feet on each side to relieve traffic congestion in the area. The New York Times reported that “Madison Avenue has finally come into its own and may now take its place alongside of Fifth Avenue as Fifth Avenue’s running mate and as a close second in importance as a business thoroughfare.”5 By 1924, numerous silk companies were relocating to this area. The New York Times listed several businesses, including Schoolhouse & Co. that moved to Madison and 39th Street, L. O. Thompson & Co. moving to 244 Madison Avenue and a new building under construction on Madison Avenue, near 40th Street to be called the “Silk Building,” to house only “concerns in the silk and fabric industry.”6 Central to the new district were two new structures on the corner of Madison Avenue and 34th Street being planned specifically for businesses related to the silk industry. At the southwestern corner the Belding Brothers purchased a plot for the construction of a 16-story building and across Madison Avenue, on the southeastern corner, Robert M. Catts was building a 17-story structure that would house the showrooms of the Cheney Silk Company in its first three floors. Robert M. Catts and the Merchants & Manufacturers Exchange of New York7 Robert M. Catts was a prominent and successful real estate developer in New York. He began his career as president of the Ritz Realty Corporation and later became president of the Merchants & Manufacturers Exchange of New York. He bought, developed and sold several large buildings in the vicinity of Park, Lexington and Madison Avenues during the 1910s and 2 20s before declaring bankruptcy in 1927. One of his more successful efforts was the Madison Belmont Building which was planned in 1924 and constructed in 1924-25. In June, 1924 Catt’s development company purchased several lots (lots 28, and 57-61, now combined to become lot 60) at the corner of 34th Street and Madison Avenue, including two that extended south to 33rd Street.8 At the time, these lots were occupied by a series of small taxpayers. By August, Catts had secured a 21-year lease for the major ground-floor showroom on the corner for Cheney Brothers Silk, one of the pre-eminent silk manufacturing firms in this country.9 Catts, who had employed the prominent architectural firm of Warren & Wetmore for other projects, awarded this firm the commission for the Madison Belmont Building. Because of the Cheney Brothers connection, however, the firm was to work with the French iron master, Edgar Brandt. The Architects: Warren & Wetmore10 Whitney Warren (1864-1943), born to a wealthy family in New York City, studied architecture privately, attended Columbia College for a time, and continued his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1885 to 1894. Upon his return to New York, he worked in the office of McKim, Mead & White. One of Warren’s country house clients was Charles Delevan Wetmore (1866-1941). Born in Elmira New York, Wetmore was a graduate of Harvard University (1889) and Harvard Law School (1892). He also studied architecture and had designed three dormitory buildings (c. 1890) on that campus before beginning to practice law. Impressed by his client’s architectural ability, Warren persuaded Wetmore to leave the law and to join him in the establishment of the architectural firm Warren & Wetmore in 1898. While Warren was the principal designer of the firm and used his social connections to provide it with clients, Wetmore became the legal and financial specialist. Reflecting his early interest in French design, Whitney Warren was also a founder of the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects and the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design. Warren & Wetmore became a highly successful and prolific architectural firm, best known for its designs for hotels, resorts and for buildings commissioned by railroad companies. The firm’s work was concentrated in New York City during the first three decades of the twentieth century, but it also executed projects across the United States and overseas. The designs were mainly variations of the neo-Classical idiom, including essays in the Beaux-Arts and neo-Renaissance styles, but throughout their careers they were able to adapt classical design treatments to the needs of a modern city. Warren & Wetmore’s first major commission, the result of a competition, was the flamboyant New York Yacht Club (1899-1900) at 37 West 44th Street. Early residences by the firm included town houses on the Upper East Side, such as the Marshall Orme Wilson House, 3 East 64th Street (1904-05); the James A.